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I have decided to give group classes a rest for the time being and will only be taking privates for the next few months as I want to work as hard as possible on my technique. I find group classes are fabulous for interaction but I need more individual attention now.

The other thing I have factored in is time. The group classes offered by my teacher are in the evenings after work and don't end till late which tires me for the next day. I want to free up my evenings for practice and use the weekends for classes.

If you are hoping to get onto the professional route to eventually perform solo in restaurants etc. do you think foregoing group classes and going private is the way to go?

If you are hoping to get onto the professional route to eventually perform solo in restaurants etc. do you think foregoing group classes and going private is the way to go?

The most important thing if you want to go pro is to practice, practice and practice - every day of the year making the best out of what you've got hoping for this to be enough for becoming and being a pro.

It doesn't really matter if you do it in a group class or mainly in private sessions as long as you practice a lot in between classes.

Depends how much you are getting out of your current classes. With a good teacher and a class at the right level for you, privates are nice but not necessary until you want to start doing solo work (assuming your class does not cater for this - I did know of a group class which led students through their solo development very well - but most concentrate on technique and learning choreographies or general improvisation)

For a private class you need a specific goal. You should let the tutor know what this is in advance. And to get the most out of it you should then go off and work on it in your own time.

Most privates I have had have been very useful. I've only had one dud where the "teacher" couldn't teach (she had been performing for some time but had no idea what a teacher did) and her knowledge was very limited in the area she said was her strength (Middle Eastern styling).

Thanks,Darshiva. Keke is a new name to me, so I'll try and make contact next time I'm there (usually over the Christmas holiday period, when others are away on holiday too)

Thanks Jameelah. The school you mention has some good holiday programs I've done.

I've had some privates with well-known, respected names but honestly been a bit disappointed. Thorough knowledge, good technique to demonstrate and clear instructions are what you expect from a respected name; for a private lesson, you also want an hour of personal attention to attend to specific issues. That's why you wanted the private lesson and are prepared to pay half a normal term's fees!

Still needing a teacher's undivided attention to help fix my wobbly turns (very hard to see what you're doing wrong while turning!), I decided that a stable, balanced turn is common to many dance forms. The legs and torso are probably, in most cases, doing much the same in the act of turning, it's what comes before, after and around that make it recognisably one dance form or another. So I recently had a private lesson with a ballroom dancing teacher. What a difference! She watched me like a hawk the whole time, I couldn't move a muscle without her noticing something. An instant expansion of my understanding of the moving human body, and instant improvement in some awkward moves in choreographies.

I wouldn't go outside the bellydance realm for help with BD-specific moves such as shimmies, but her expertise and trained eye (she has also been an athletics coach) was just what I'd been hoping for.